A Wolf's Journey
by Kushima Mihamo
Summary: My characters mixed in the wolf's rain characters. An epic journey to open up the wolf within and to reunite lost friends. And will romance sprout? Read to find out.
1. Chapter 1

A Wolf's Heroe's Journey

**A Wolf's Journey**

It was nearly noon and the sun was directly over the school building. As I came into the light, I looked upwards and was blinded by the sun. I shielded my blue eyes with my pale hand. I glanced back at the ground and turned my attention to my watch and shrugged.

I hesitantly walked into the sunlight and I was suddenly thrown to the ground. I fell hard against the pavement and felt pain course up my body. I pushed myself up and peered behind me. There I saw a brown-haired girl with the school uniform on. Her eyes were a light green and her skin was a slight tan. Her hair blew around her face and her hands were covered in dirt.

"Ira?" I asked.

"Hey Kerii!" She said with enthusiasm.

I rolled my eyes and threw off of me. As I got to my feet she grabbed onto my arm and wouldn't let go. I glared at her and growled, "Ira, you're annoying."

She pouted, "Oh come on, Kerii. Just because we've only known each other for a little while doesn't mean you have to be so cold to me."

I sighed and dragged her along as I walked to the other side of the building. She looked curiously around as we ambled along. I raised an eyebrow and then shook my head. Girls stared at us thinking we were the strangest things that they had ever seen. Truth is, they had no idea. To us, they were the strange ones.

Suddenly a red head ran at me and head butted me in the shoulder. I fell backwards and landed on top of Ira. The red headed girl scowled at me and it seemed like she was going to explode at any moment. Ira stepped in front of me and bowed.

"Please don't hurt Kerii. Whatever she did, I hope to atone for it." Ira said.

I sighed and pushed her gently out of the way. I asked, "What did I do, Areku?"

Areku smirked, "Nothing…really…"

I knew what was coming. She always started off slow and then burst at me. It was usually because I was the weakest person she knew and liked to take her anger out on.

"I saw you earlier in the parking lot!"

I said, "Yeah…so what? Is that a crime too?"

She suddenly burst, "No…what is a crime, however, is you not being yourself out there!"

Ira cocked her head and asked, "What does she mean, Miss Kerii?"

I explained, "She means that I wasn't in my human form."

Ira gasped and made her hair fly every which way. I grabbed her wrist and motioned for her to go to the roof. She nodded and slunk away.

Areku then grabbed my shirt collar and breathed in my face, "You forget who your leader is!"

I whimpered, "Yeah, well you know I can't let Ira see me as a groveling pup."

Areku nodded and released me, only pretending to suspend me in time, "Kabam!"

I froze and she laughed loudly making me fall down again. I rubbed my posterior and looked up. Areku was gone and I took the opportunity to get a quick drink and then something to eat. I ran up the stairs and made it to a drinking fountain. As I was drinking I noticed a white wolf on the ground. It was on top of a car and seemed to be looking for something.

I glanced around and saw that no one was around. I got on all fours and my human form disappeared. My long black hair had disappeared and my school uniform along with it. In place of it was a white wolf with a scar on each eye. Around my waist was a heavy black shackle which I obtained from men that had captured me.

I jumped down to the parking lot and landed on all fours. The white wolf glared at me and growled. He was covered in scars and dried blood. I bent down on my haunches and lowered my head. This showed that I meant no harm. It's growling stopped and I heard the wolf come closer to me.

"My name is Kiba. I thought I was the only wolf here." He said.

I stood back up and looked him over. I noticed that he had beautiful golden eyes that shone like the moon. I noticed that he was also examining me. He raised an eyebrow at the shackle that I wore and walked over to it. He bit it and tried to break it off. I turned my head to him and licked his ear. He merely looked up and released his grip.

He glimpsed around and asked, "Are there any other wolves here?"

I nodded and pointed my muzzle up to where Ira was. She was looking over the top of the roof and when she noticed that we saw her, she retreated. I slightly chuckled and walked back to the wall of the school. Kiba followed me and I stopped in front of him.

I sighed, "You can't come with me. I'll bring them here, ok?"

He looked at me with cold eyes and I shrugged. I was back in human form, fully clothed and hair still attached. I jumped up the wall and reentered the building. Ira met me and was jumping up and down with excitement.

"Is that guy your mate?" She asked curiously.

I shook my head and asked, "Are you crazy? Who would want a plain wolf like that?"

I suddenly felt a chill crawl up my spine and felt a rage of energy from behind me. I knew exactly who it was, but remained still. The clawed hand turned me around and made me face her.

"A-Areku?" Ira and I said in unison.

"You have got some explaining to do! Who is that white wolf!?"

Ira complained, "No fair! You used your time powers to see what Kerii was up to."

I was about to say something when a bunch of girls ran toward us screaming. I caught one as she was running.

I asked, "What are you running from!?"

She answered, "There's a rabid dog in the cafeteria!"

I glared and thought to myself, _No one steals my food and gets away with it._


	2. Chapter 2

Troubles

**Friendship Comes In Many Forms**

Ignoring Areku's yelling, I grabbed the rail and jumped over it, landing on my feet. When I looked towards the cafeteria I saw the kitchen staff grabbing stools and brooms to fight the animal. I laughed and sniffed the air. I caught the fragrant smell of roast beef and potatoes, which was my favorite kind of human food, the only thing that I really found edible.

This made me even angrier, so I pushed my way past the people and breathed in a sigh. I turned towards everyone and yelled, "Let me take care of this!"

They glanced at each other and nodded. Then they ran like mice from a cat which made me chuckle. I walked towards the counter of the cafeteria and sniffed the air. Besides the scent of delicious food, I could smell a wet dog. I growled and hopped through the window.

Once on the other side, I saw a huge shape in the back of the room. Since no humans were around. I transformed into a white wolf once again and growled as the shape approached me. Once it was close enough, I could distinguish it.

It was a plump sandy brown wolf with a black collar around its neck. On the metal part of the collar the letter 'X' was engraved. I stood defensively and bared my fangs.

"What are you doing?" He cocked his head.

I growled, "You ate my favorite meal!"

He looked around and said, "Whoops. Sorry. But…you wouldn't kill a fellow wolf, would ya?"

I relaxed my face and laughed, "Ha! I wouldn't waste my time on you."

He smiled and as I turned to leave he said, "Wait! My name's Hige. Have you seen another white wolf around here?"

I stopped and answered, "Yeah…why? You a friend of his?"

He nodded his head. I heard footsteps, so I turned back to my human form and pushed him into the freezer. The janitor walked in and asked, "What's going on? Where's that dog?"

I replied, "I took care of it sir."

"Really? Well…where is the beast?"

"I scared him away."

The janitor nodded and left to get his cleaning supplies to clean up the mess that Hige had made. I opened up the freezer and saw a teenage boy with light brown hair who was wearing a yellow jacket with a black stripe on each arm. Around his neck was the same collar that he wore when he was a wolf. Underneath his jacket was a black shirt. He wore light blue pants with a navy blue stripe down each side.

He asked, winking, "What do you think?"

I rolled my eyes and said, "Come on and try to act natural."

He sighed and followed me. As soon as we were out of the kitchen of the cafeteria we saw tons of girls staring at us. Hige raised an eyebrow and walked up behind me.

He whispered, "Is this Paradise?"

I raised an eyebrow and said, "No, but it is an all girls school."

He nearly fainted and said, "I knew it was Paradise. I made it."

I looked at him questioningly and noticed that Ira was hiding behind a nearby trash can. I motioned her over and she shook her head shyly. I shrugged and tapped Hige on the shoulder.

He cocked his head and asked, "What is it?"

"We were looking for Kiba, right? I'll take you to where I saw him last."

He nodded and I led him to the parking lot. We both sniffed the air, but couldn't find him anywhere. Hige jumped on top of a dumpster as a glass bottle was thrown at us. Suddenly a brick came my way. I tried to dodge it, but I felt a sharp pain in my side.

I was thrown aside with great force and was immediately caught by light and nimble hands. I looked up and saw Ira's face. I smiled, relieved. I looked to where I was standing and noticed that Kiba was there in his human form.

His dark brown hair blew in the wind and his blue eyes stared at me coldly. His dark brown leather jacket flapped back and forth on the white shirt that he was wearing. His blue jeans were all scraped up as if he had been in a fight.

As I looked him over, Ira scowled at him. She bared her teeth and made a low growling sound. She set me on the ground and got down on all fours.

I put my hand on her shoulder and said softly, "Shh…calm your fury my friend."

Ira's muscles relaxed and she gently fell to the ground. Her wolf form appeared since she was unconscious and I slung her over my shoulder. Hige walked to where Kiba and I were and he rubbed the back of his head.

"Hey Kiba. Where ya been?"

Kiba turned to Hige and said solemnly, "Let's go."

I shouted, "Wait!" They both turned to me and stared. I teetered back and forth out of nervousness and continued, "Where will you go?"

Kiba answered, "We are going to Paradise."

I scratched my head and asked, "Paradise? Where's that?"

He replied, "Our destination. We're following Cheza there."

I was even more confused and Hige could tell. He said, "Kiba, she doesn't know about Cheza." He turned to me and said cheerfully, "Cheza is the lunar flower."

I exclaimed, "Wait!! The lunar flower exists still!?"

Kiba looked at me in shock and asked, "Where have you heard of it?"

I shook my head and said, "I haven't heard of it…I know it. It used to grow in fields around here…until that terrible fire burned everything."

Kiba's memories flashed before his eyes and he asked, slightly curious, "Was your pack wiped out?"

I slowly nodded my head. Kiba then walked up to me and sniffed my hair. I blushed and tried to hide it by looking at the ground. He stepped back and I asked, "What?"

He said, "Why didn't I realize it sooner!? You smell familiar…like a distant dream…"

I stood there and swayed back and forth. I had met a survivor from my past! A wolf from my pack!

I hugged Kiba and cried into his shoulder, making the leather turn damp. He didn't move but continued to look straight ahead. I figured that he didn't know what to say or do. But I guessed that he felt the same way that I did.

I felt a swift pang in my side again and fell to my knees. A brown tail swished me in the face as Ira trotted up to me. She placed her muzzle near me and whined. I reached a hand out and patted her head.

"Good girl." I said, before fainting.

When I woke up again, I was in the nurse's office. Kiba and Hige were no where to be found, but Ira was there. She was in the corner of the room, eating a saltine cracker. As I sat up, I felt a terrible throbbing in my head and my vision became blurry. I looked to Ira, who was now at my bedside.

"How are you feeling?" She asked worriedly.

I said weakly, "Fine…"

She reported, "The nurse said that you should take it easy."

I laughed, "Heh. That's easy for her to say. She doesn't have homework every night, and tests to study for."

Ira said, "You don't think it's…your kidneys do you?"

I queried, "Why it be that?"

She shrugged, "I don't know, but couldn't it be from that shackle that's around your waist?"

I shook my head and replied, "I don't have it when I'm in human form. The scientists put a shrinking disk in it, so I could do dirty work for them when I was human, remember?"

She nodded and we said nothing beyond that. Just as I was about to get out of bed, Areku came in, with a scowl on her face. I hid under the sheets and she pulled them off.

"You have to stay here, Kerii!"

I demanded, "Why!? I'm perfectly fine!"

She looked at me, with a twinge of pain in her eyes. "No you're not! Remember what the doctor said last year!?"

"Who cares what some human doctor says."

She burst, "You should!! They know what they're talking about! I control time remember!? I saw your death!"

I turned towards the wall and drew a circle with my finger. I nodded my head slowly and Ira hugged me and started crying. "Don't die, Kerii!"

I weakly smiled, "I'm not dead yet, Ira. I won't die soon."

Areku yelled, "How do you know!?"

I looked up at her and smiled, "Because I'm stronger than you think."

Areku left the room and the nurse reentered. She told me that I should just stay in there for ten more minutes, because school was almost over.

"How long was I out?"

"Almost three hours." The nurse replied as she left the room once again.

Ira released me and glanced up at me with red puffy eyes. I wiped her eyes with the tie from my sailor top and sang softly for her. She calmed down and rested her eyes. I had a lot to think about too. There were human friends who I loved to help, because I cared about them. They became family to me, even if they do hurt me every now and then.

The funny thing about humans is that they never know when they hurt someone and when they do they feel terribly guilty. With us wolves, we know when we hurt each other and we know what to do when we're hurt. The only thing that's every hurt me is humans. They are the ones that experimented with my emotions and body. They are the ones who kill and hate things that are different and yet I managed to find some who were…different from the rest.

What do humans call people like that…oh yeah…friends. In my pack we call people like that pack mates or teammates. Humans are a truly extraordinary creature…I think that is why I am so fascinated by them. And yet, I am also deeply afraid of them. That's why when I get to close to one of them I tend to run away. I'm afraid that I'll hurt them…or…they'll hurt me.

I stared up at the ceiling and covered my ears when that annoying school bell rang for classes to be let out and for students to be dismissed. When it finally stopped a ringing noise resided in my ear. I shook my head and Ira looked up at me. She helped me to my feet and led me out of the office.

"Kerii…humans are very strange. I don't think I'll ever understand them."

In that moment I knew that Ira was thinking about humans too. But…even though they think that they are on top…I thought…that maybe they were really in the middle, because they were the ones that killed for sport, the ones that destroyed everything precious to us, and were the one would end up dying first. Because Paradise wasn't for them. It was for us.

As I ran out of the building with Ira I saw a white blur and a sandy shape following us. I smiled to myself and thought _what wonderful friends I have._

As we got onto a bus, gunshots could be heard from behind me. Kiba pushed me into a seat and made Ira go all the way to the back of the bus. He whispered something to Hige and then sat down.

Hige gasped, "It couldn't be him, could it!?"

**Author's note:** Sorry again for this, but my friend needs credit for her character. Chibi Panzer is the one that characterized Areku. That is her character and has allowed me to use it. Thanks Chibisuke! You are awesome!


	3. Chapter 3

The Decision of a Lifetime

**The Decision of a Lifetime**

I cocked my head to Hige and asked, "Who!?"

More gunshots could be heard outside of the bus and then a man that was holding a long gun came running toward the bus, shouting something. I couldn't quite make out what he was saying.

Luckily for us, the bus took off, leaving the man in a trail of dust. Kiba and Hige looked back, with their hair standing on end. They soon relaxed themselves and Ira looked at me hoping that I would not leave her alone. I motioned for her to come up, but she shook her head and pointed at the seat. In return I shook my head.

Kiba interrupted our nonverbal fight, by saying, "That man was someone that has been chasing us for a while. He has an intense hate for wolves and wants to wipe them all out."

Hige only looked out the window and murmured, "Blue…"

I didn't know quite what he meant, but I knew that it wasn't a color he was talking about. When the bus finally stopped we all got off and went inside a book store and went to the back of the building. Kiba had mentioned earlier that he wanted to tell us something important.

"Kerii, Ira…I have something to ask the two of you…" Kiba started.

I asked, "What is it?"

"Kerii, since you are an old member of my pack, I would like it very much if you would join us on our journey."

I smiled and said, "I'd love to but…"

Kiba interrupted, "And Ira…we wouldn't mind if you came along."

Ira jumped up and down and shouted, "To Paradise!"

Hige smirked, "Great! Another pretty girl in our pack!"

Ira backed away and hid behind me. She didn't take compliments well. Kiba turned to me and waited for my answer and when I didn't say anything he motioned for Hige to follow him.

"Until tomorrow then." Hige waved.

I ran to them and grabbed Kiba's sleeve. "Wait! You didn't let me explain why!"

"I don't need an explanation. You obviously grown attached to the humans. I'll give you until tomorrow to decide. If you're not there, then we're not going to wait for you or go looking for you. Know that now!" Kiba said and then ran off with Hige running after him.

Ira's face saddened as she walked over to me. "I won't go if you don't."

I smiled weakly, "Don't worry about it. You don't have to say things you don't mean."

"What!?"

"I know you'd show up here tomorrow even if I wasn't here."

Ira's eyes filled with tears. "How could you even say that!? We've been friends for…"

I cut her off, "Just stop it, Ira! Stop pretending!"

She looked at me as if I had just stabbed her with a knife. "I never was Kerii. Never…and if you can't even tell what's real from fake…then maybe you should just be a lone wolf again."

As I turned away from her I heard a patter of feet and when I glanced back she was gone. I hated myself for what I did. To even assume that she wasn't a real friend. Man, was I dumb. She was right though. I locked my heart from the world just from pain. When pain should have made me stronger, it only made me filled with darkness and hate.

"I screwed up big time." I said to myself.

As I walked home I couldn't decide whether to stay in the jail of a world I was in or to go on a journey that could make me happy and feel better about myself and everyone around me. Maybe I could unlock the triple doors that I had surrounded my heart with.

Thinking of that lifted my spirits and I sprinted home. I bolted so fast that my eyes watered and my hair flew back. I finally made it home and had reached my decision.

The next day I arrived at the book store at 11:00 am on a Friday. I had skipped school, something I had never done before and let me tell you…it felt wrong. I looked at my hands and imagined that they were shackled together.

"I'm not free yet." I said to myself.

Kiba showed up with Hige and looked around. "Where's your friend?"

I shrugged and replied, "I don't think she'll be coming."

We waited for Ira for an hour and a half before we gave up. In her place was someone else and it shocked me at who it was. I became frightened and decided that I would rather stay in a repetitive world than go with her.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Journey Begins**

"A-Areku!? What are you doing here?" I rubbed the back of my head and looked at the floor, guiltily. She picked something brown and furry up and dropped it hard on the ground. The brown furry animal ran to me and jumped into my arms. It was Ira.

"Ira too!? Areku, did you drag her along!?"

"Shut up! She told me everything!" She grabbed my arm and continued, "We're leaving. Whatever they told you, they're just a bunch of liars, running from Jaguara's troops."

"So what if they are!? That woman is a killer!" I yelled so loud that the walls shook.

"Kerii…" Areku's human form vanished and her wolf form growled and clamped mouth down of the hood of my jacket. She yanked roughly and dragged me to the ground, choking me.

Kiba yelled, "That's enough!"

She released me and glared at him, "Don't get in my way, boy! You're not the leader of my pack! I can treat my pack however I want in order to make them obey me and understand that I am their leader!" She stepped on my neck and growled, "Show your true form already! Or do you like being human!?"

Ira summoned all of her courage and slammed her body into Areku, knocking her off of me. "Stop it, Areku! I may be a victim to you, but I'm not going to sit around and let you kill Kerii!"

Kiba picked me up and slung me over his shoulder, "In any case, it looks as if you lost your pack. You're welcome to join us…but not lead us. Our only interest is getting to Paradise!"

He walked away with Hige and Ira following him. Ira paused and looked back at the wounded, Areku. Tears welled up in her eyes but she quickly wiped them away and ran away from Areku.

Areku slowly stood up and growled to the air, "You think you've won! You haven't! I will make my own way to this 'Paradise'!"

A chill crawled up my spine and I looked down at Kiba's back. I saw Ira looking up at me and I smiled. She went to Hige and poke-attacked him. He didn't even know what had hit him.

Ira then asked, "Hey! Are we close to being there?"

Kiba shook his head and said, "We're not going to Paradise yet…not without Cheza."

Hige asked in shock, "Wait! What about Tsume and Toboe!? Aren't we going to look for them!?" In almost a whisper, he asked, "And what about Blue…I promised her that I'd come back…"

I fell asleep, while Kiba carried me and it felt like I was sleeping a sleep that only comes when you die. When I awoke I saw the roof of what looked like train station. I looked around, but didn't see the guys anywhere. I almost stood up when I felt something heavy shift on my lap. I looked down and saw Ira, completely unconscious. I grinned and thought to myself, _I wonder what she's dreaming about…Paradise perhaps…a world full of rabbits she can munch on…or perhaps...a world without humans. _

I felt a hand on my head and looked up to see Hige. "She's like your little sister, huh?"

"Yeah…she is. I feel like I have to protect her from everything…she's just so delicate." I replied and petted Ira's hair.

"Yeah…she sure stood up for you though." Hige chuckled.

"Hmm?"

"Back when that red-head choked you." Hige reminded me.

"Yeah…I've never seen her do that before."

"She reminds me of Toboe…and that red-headed friend of yours…she's like Tsume…" Hige said as he stared at the ceiling.

"Well you don't remind me of anyone." I joked and went on, "But Tsume and Toboe…they're your friends right? How'd you guys get separated?"

Hige stared at me as if I was asking an outrageous question. "If you want to know everything, then ask Kiba. I'm not the type of guy that likes to recount bad memories."

"Oh…where is Kiba?" I looked around.

"He said we should spend the night here and went to find a place for us to stay."

"Here!? In a train station?" I grabbed my head and moaned, "This can't be happening!"

"Uh…well…not here...exactly…" Hige started to explain but before he could, Kiba showed up and motioned for us to follow him. I tapped Ira lightly, but she didn't awaken from her sleep. I blew on her ear, but that didn't do anything either. Kiba suddenly walked over and pulled her onto his back. She suddenly woke up and kicked and screamed at him. I pulled her off and she clung to me like I was her mother.

"There, there, Ira. It's alright." I tried to console her.

"That pervert! He tried to kidnap me!" Ira glared at Kiba.

"Ira! You wouldn't wake up, so he was going to carry you to where we're staying for the night." I explained.

"Where are we staying?" Ira queried.

Kiba said, "Be quiet everyone! And stay close. Jaguara's troops are everywhere. So be on the lookout."

I grabbed Ira's hand and made sure she didn't lag behind. She was the last person I wanted to lose. Besides…I didn't want to be stuck with two guys I barely knew. One was weird and the other one was just…just…unemotional.

A loud banging noise sounded from behind me and caught me off guard. I pushed Ira in front of me only to be pulled back by two hands. I yelled, "Kiba! Hig-!" but my mouth was soon covered and I couldn't speak another word. Ira bit one of the man's arms, but their armor was too thick for her to break through.

"We've got wolves over hear!" A troop yelled.

Kiba ran back and nipped the throats of the nearby soldiers. I fell hard to the ground, but caught myself before I hit it. I tore the rope from my mouth and picked up Ira and ran onto a train. Kiba saw me and chased after me, Hige close behind.

All of us made it on the train and we had no idea where we were going. All we knew was that after awhile we saw snow and ice cover the windows and the luggage area, where we were hiding, grew colder by the minute. Luckily, our wolf fur kept us warm, but if someone came back there now…we'd have a lot of trouble on our paws.


	5. Chapter 5

**A Discovery of Friends**

As we lay motionless and close together, we could hear the clanging of metal and the loud talking of humans. Ira shook as she slept and I wrapped my wolf body around her tighter to try and warm her up more. I looked to where the others were sleeping and saw Kiba looking staring out a nearby window. He seemed lost in thought.

I stood up and walked over to Kiba. I sat next to him and peered out the window to see if I could see what he saw, but all I saw was an endless amount of desolate landscapes of snow. "Cheza." He said as he continued to gaze out the window.

"Kiba?" I cocked my head at him. He shook his head and glanced at me.

"What is it? Can't you sleep?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Not really. But don't think too much about it. I just need to clear my mind." Kiba nodded in comprehension and then trotted to the door. "Where are you going?" I whispered.

"No where. I was just seeing if the coast was clear."

"Say…why aren't we in there anyways?"

"Because…we don't have tickets…"

I nodded and paced in a circle. Kiba watched as I did this and smirked. He walked over to Hige and motioned for me to follow, so I did. He bent his head down to the floor of the train and I laid down where his muzzle pointed to. I peered curiously over my shoulders and saw him again try to pry the shackle off of my waist.

I placed my head on the ground and sighed, "It's no use, Kiba. It won't come off."

He stopped and then sat in front of my muzzle. He looked at my eyes and said, "What terrible scarring."

I shrugged and replied, "Meh. That's what happens when a human catches you. He bounds you and tries to rip something off of you."

I closed my eyes and tried to sleep when suddenly I felt something on my eyes. I opened them to see Kiba licking the wound above them. I tried hard to hide my blushing, but couldn't and I knew Kiba noticed, because he soon starting licking my cheeks. My face turned so red, I thought it would make my fur that permanent color.

I felt a stirring on the other side of me and noticed that Ira was kicking me violently, her eyes squeezed shut. I couldn't help but laugh. Kiba backed away afraid that he was hurting me.

"Ira, I know you're awake."

She opened her eyes and said sleepily, "I am now…thanks a lot Kerii."

I laughed again and softly bit her ear. "I'm going to get you!"

Ira rolled away from me, but I got up and chased her. It soon turned into a game that ended in me being tackled by Kiba who told me to be quiet or we would be found out. After that everyone fell asleep.

Early in the morning I felt a paw in my face and woke up to Ira's foot. I stood up and stretched and walked over to the window where I saw the sun hit the snow in a fantastic array of light. Kiba nuzzled up against me and said, "It's pretty now, but it can turn deadly. We need to keep moving."

"Are we getting off here, then?"

"It's better to leave where there aren't any humans."

I nodded and woke Ira up, while he nudged Hige to move. One at a time, we jumped off of the train and into the frozen snow, which turned out not to be as warm as it had appeared.

"Brr…I think my tail is going to fall off." Ira said.

We ran for miles, through snow and hail. Luckily, there was no blizzard or air ships in our way. However, we soon reached a frozen lake which became the first obstacle on our journey outdoors.

"I'll go first to test it out." Kiba insisted.

"Wait…why not let me try?" I asked.

"Your shackle would weigh you down. I don't want you to fall through the ice."

"Why not send shorty? She's light enough." Hige suggested.

"Ira's not going out there!" I yelled and stood in front of her.

"Sheesh. It was just a suggestion." Hige said nervously.

Kiba had already darted out on the ice and was checking it very carefully. He nodded to us, which signaled that it was safe. Hige smiled and ran first to Kiba safely making it to him. I ran to the edge of the lake, but stopped there.

"Come on. It's fine. If it can support my weight, then you should be fine." Hige smiled.

Ira walked in front of me and smiled, "Come on, Kerii. It's fine."

I nodded and walked slowly onto the ice. _Even if I do fall through, I just need to make sure that Ira is safe and sound. _

"Stop!" A voice sounded from the distance.

Kiba and Hige both turned suddenly, "Tsume!?"

A gray wolf appeared above the horizon and howled. Kiba and Hige howled in return and then ran toward the gray wolf. Ira and I stayed motionless as air ships suddenly appeared shooting giant rays of energy beams at the gray wolf.

"Turn around! We need to move in the other direction!" Tsume yelled and ran past Kiba and Hige.

Kiba and Hige turned around and all three of them bolted past us. I went back to my human form and picked up Ira. I ran off the lake and hid under a ledge placing myself on top of her to protect her from the beams.

Kiba looked back and stopped. "Kiba! We need to move! Come on!"

"We can't leave them."

Tsume looked at me and Ira and pushed head butted Kiba to move. "We don't even know those two wolves. Let's go!"

He ran ahead with Hige as Kiba stared in despair at us. I had no idea why until I saw a very bright light coming overhead. I stood up and ran after the pack. I couldn't run fast enough though and tripped on a rock that was jutting out of the snow. I threw Ira and yelled, "Run! You have to run!"

Ira stood motionless as the beam came closer. I turned back into a wolf and bit her hind leg, which sent her yelping off after the others. I smiled as tears dripped down my face and I knew I was going to die. _At least Ira is safe and Kiba found a friend of his. They won't need me anymore…but I do hope Ira will be alright without me. Be strong…my sister._


	6. Chapter 6

**Another Friend**

My eyes blinked slowly open and I twitched my claws to see if I could still move. _Am I dead? _I wondered as I looked around to see that I was surrounded by silver bars. I stood up slowly and felt my shoulder blades hit the top of the cage. _Damn this cage is small._

"Hi there."

I looked to another cage that was nearby and saw another wolf there. He was reddish-brown in color and one could easily tell that he was a pup. "Hi?"

"My name's Toboe. What's yours?"

"Kerii…where are we?"

"I'm not really sure. I've been here for some time though."

"Was it humans that captured us?"

"Jagara's troops."

I growled and bit the cage bar, trying to bend it with my sharp canine fangs, but to no avail. "Grr…let me out!"

"Say…what's with the shackle on your back?"

I looked to the metal clamp on my back and replied, "Those damn humans did this to me."

"Humans? Well not all of them are bad." He smiled and wagged his tail.

"Tfft. You're such a pup. They're all in their own world and don't care who they hurt."

"There are wolves like that too."

I ignored him and laid back down. I mumbled under my breath, "What do you know? You're just a kid."

Some time passed and only silence filled the air. It was nice and discomforting at the same time. That changed when the troops rushed in and grabbed Toboe and me by the ruff of our necks. I was in a bad enough already and didn't need some human grabbing me roughly. I broke free and jumped at the soldier, biting into his neck, making him drop to the floor.

I growled. _Who's next?_

Soldiers charged at me from every side and I avoided all of their attacks and broke Toboe free and we ran for it, before I hurt anyone else. I believe, the only reason I didn't kill all those men in that room, was to protect the innocence of Toboe. He reminded me of Ira in a way.

As we ran out of the premises, we both looked around to see hundreds of more troops everywhere. We hid behind some crates to hide from their view.

"What do we do now, Kerii?"

"Hmm…" I looked around and discovered some men slacking off nearby. "I have an idea. Wait here."

"Okay."

I turned human and walked over to the two men. "Hey boys. Would you two show a girl around?"

"Heh. She's not that cute."

"Yeah. She's rather ugly."

I felt a vein of anger throbbing in my forehead but tried to keep the act going, "Despite how I look, I'm sure I can help you boys somehow." I winked and licked my thumb.

They both laughed idiotically and led me behind the building to a shed. I then smirked and beat the two men up and took their metal uniforms from them. I motioned for Toboe to come over and he nodded. When he got there he was shocked.

"You beat them up?"

"Tfft. They were total jerks. Like women are just playthings. When will they learn?" I shook my head.

"Huh?"

"Uh…just don't grow up to be like them, alright?" I said nervously and handed him one of the outfits.

He nodded and put the armor on over his clothes. I did the same and we walked to the front gate. _I hope this works._

When we arrived at the front gate, we were given a car and allowed to leave without showing any identification whatsoever. Unfortunately we were only allowed to leave in the cars. _I can't drive. Wolves don't learn stuff like that. Crud!_

Toboe looked at me curiously, "What's wrong?"

I looked towards him in horror and asked, "Do you know how to drive?"

He shook his head, "No. Wolves don't drive."

"I know that! Oh crud. We are so doomed."

I gulped and stepped on the gas pedal speeding forward. Toboe and I both screamed loudly as we plowed the gate down and knocked a guard down. Luckily no one pursued us. They probably just thought that we had been drinking or something. _Thank God._

When we got far enough away we left the car and ran the rest of the way. We're wolves after all. We use what we've got. Our paws. Our claws. Our fangs. Our howl. Ourselves.

We soon came to a small cave and decided to take a small break since both of us were pretty wiped out. I took off my heavy armor off and as I sat down and looked over to Toboe. "So…Toboe…do you know how I survived?"

Toboe took his armor off as well. "What do you mean?"

"Well…the ship was coming at my friend and me and a giant beam of light came at me. I thought for sure I would die."

"Oh that. That happened to me too. It's just a blinding beam to knock out wolves. They want to torture us and Cheza. Those guys are evil."

"I thought you liked humans." I laughed.

"I do. Just not them." He explained.

"I see. So they knock us out and then capture us to torture us. Figures."

"Not just us though. Sometimes they'll kill us in front of Cheza. I saw that happen twice." He winced.

"Poor Cheza."

"You know Cheza!?" He exclaimed.

"No…but I've heard of her. A friend of mine told me about her."

"Really? Was he a wolf?"

"Of course. Why would I befriend a human?" I laughed. "I hope they're okay."

"Your pack?"

"My friends." I smiled weakly.

"I hope my friends are alright too. My friend Tsume and I were only recently separated."

"Wait! Did you say Tsume!?"

"Yeah…why? You know him!?"

"I heard Kiba and Hige say his name before I was knocked out!"

"Kiba and Hige? You know them too!? Those guys are my friends too." Toboe smiled.

"Wow. What a coincidence." I was stunned.

"Yeah. I hope we both find them."

I nodded, "Me too."

Toboe smiled and suggested, "Well we should rest for now. We'll continue our search tomorrow."

I nodded and rested my head on my arms and tried to get comfortable. All the while thinking about Kiba, Ira, and Cheza, and how I wanted to be with them.


	7. Chapter 7

**A Look Into the Past**

As I slept, I dreamed about my past. Flashes of horror flew by in my nightmare, causing my body to whimper and paw at the earth. My mind, however, was disconnected and fighting to break free of the horrible trance. I growled and jumped at the scenes in my dream. But the nightmarish figures grabbed me roughly and threw me about. Then they grabbed my bruised wolf body up and shackled it to a post. When I tore the post down and ran with it trailing behind me, the figures whacked me over the head and slashed my eyes, hoping to blind me. They then held me down with some sort of clamp and I felt like my world was upside down. I couldn't see anything but felt a stinging pain throughout my entire form.

I was shaken awake, "Kerii!"

"Huh?" I opened my eyes and sprany up with a gasp. "What happened?"

Toboe whimpered and pressed his muzzle to mine, "You were dreaming."

"No..." I pulled away from him and growled, "It was a hellish nightmare of my past that I hoped was erased."

He sat down and stared at me sadly, "Something really bad must've happened to you, huh?"

"Really bad? That doesn't do what those creatures did to me justice..." I shook my head. "Forget it. Let's go. I don't want to waste anymore time."

As I turned Toboe headbutted me lightly and held his head against my side, "Whatever they did to you...it was them...and they shouldn't represent their entire kind."

I sighed, "If only it was just those creatures that hurt me..." I swished my tail and moved on, not wanting to discuss the matter anymore. Toboe understood and ran ahead of me, showing me that he was ready to keep moving. I nodded and ran next to him, soon surpassing him.

As we ran, the falling snow covered our trail from the world that pursued our kind. Our snowy path ended for a bit and led us to a moutainous path.

Toboe stopped and asked, "Are we going that way?" He pointed with his muzzle.

I shrugged, "Do you see another way? Besides maybe this will keep the humans even further off of our trail."

Toboe nodded, "Yeah...but...they haven't followed us this far. Besides...it seems like a pretty steep climb."

"We haven't been running that long, so we should be fine. Just stay in wolf form unless I say otherwise alright?"

He nodded and waited for me to go ahead. I laughed to myself and trotted a little faster, disappearing behind a jutting rock. Toboe panicked and ran past me and I jumped out and pinned him lightly to the ground.

"Hey!"

I laughed, "Gotcha." I climbed off of him and shook my head, laughing. "Oh man was that rich."

He headbutted me and hit my shackle. "Ouch."

I laughed again. "Be careful."

He glared at me and then ran ahead. I ran after him, hoping he wasn't too angry with me. We ran half way up the mountain before we stopped.

He panted, "Stop....following...me...I'm...gonna find...the others...on...my own."

I shook my head, "Don't be stupid." I caught my breath then went on, "We need to do this together."

He looked back at me and tackled me to the ground, "Fine...we're even now." He then trotted off back up the path.

I shook my head. "Where does he find his energy?"

I trotted up next to him and noticed that he had stopped in front of a cave in the side of the mountain. I sniffed the air but could not smell anything. I walked in front of Toboe, brushing my tail against his face. When he didn't react, I tilted my head to the side and whimpered.

"..."

"Toboe? Is something wrong?" I looked at his face more closely and a look of fright on his face.

He said slowly, "Turn...around..."

I did so and noticed that a large, light brown claw hung loosely out of the side of the cave. I sniffed the air again, but still did not smell anything. "My nose isn't working."

Toboe said, "I noticed that mine didn't either when I came up here. None of our canine senses work."

"Why not?"

"I don't know...but I don't like it."

I nodded and bit his ear lightly, "Let's just move on before that thing wakes up."

He nodded and walked silently ahead of me. I looked at the claw once more and then walked slowly behind Toboe. But as soon as I turned my head and began walking, the massive beast arose and knocked me against the side of the moutain. My eyes bagan to fog and I could barely make out what it was. As the creature lunged at me again, Toboe ran and clamped down on the creature's back, making it roar in pain. It sounded like a bear from what I could hear, but then my hearing was going as well. I sniffed the air again and twitched my ears to try and use what little senses I had left. All I could hear was a loud thump and a moaning sound. But then everything went black around me. The sight, the sound, and the smell disappeared. I thought for sure, I had died this time.

**Author's Note: This is a flashback/ dream. ONLY KERII'S MEMORY!!!**

But I seemed to be wrong. For I was in some sort of jailed cell. But this time Toboe was not there. I looked around and saw those same nightmarish figures as before and I growled at them. They saw me curl my lip back at them and did not like it so they grabbed me roughly and try to tie my muzzle up. As if I'd sit by and let some monsters do that to me. I clawed and bit my way out from the mass of them. _I'm not going through this again! No way! _

More of them came at me and whipped me and chained me to the ground, until I was totally immobilized. I growled and flexed my claws, but nothing seemed to work. Their disgusting rubbery hands pulled at my muzzle and tied rope and metal wires around it with a piece of fabric that I could barely breathe through. I glared at them all. _You think you've won!? You're wrong! _

They then put a shackle around my waist and connected a chain to it and then chain to a sturdy wooden post. They then left me like that and went to torture some other poor defenseless animal. Lucky, for me, I wasn't defenseless. I ripped the chains away from the earthen dirt that they lay under and tore at the chain connecting me to the post. I used every muscle in my body until I pulled the post fromt he ground and then ran for my life. No way was I going to die in this stinkhole of a Hell. That was when a heavyset creature came out of nowhere. He stood in front of me and blocked me from every escape route possible. Slashing his sword at me at every direction I tried to run to. I growled and bit his sword, making sure not to cut my mouth on it. He tried to shake me loose, but could not. He called over some of his buddies in some strange dialect which I didn't understand and one of them had a dagger and slit my right eye with it. I came at him with all I had but was slashed in my other eye by his associate cut my other eye with his blade. The pain ran to my eyes and attacked me brutally. I clawed at my eyes, trying to stop the pain, but couldn't. _You'll pay! You'll pay!_

I attacked blindly, not getting anything in my jaws. I growled and snapped all around me trying to defend myself. A pain suddenly shot up my spine and hit me in the head like a gong being hit. I fell hard to the ground and blacked out. Thinking I would wake up in Paradise or some other far away land I ran...but I ran nowhere, for I was on my side. I believe it was instinct that was trying to carry me out of my pen to a safe haven...somewhere far away from these horrendous creatures of death and violence.

When I awoke, I could not open my eyes even an inch without inflicting some kind of pain on myself. I laid my head very still and whimpered. I was in a cold place...perhaps the coldest place on the earth. Not climate wise...but a place filled with anger, violence, despair, gloom, and misfortune. At least that's what I thought. These creatures cared not what they did or who they hurt. That was clear.

Suddenly I felt a rush of blood being sent to the front of my cranium. I whined from the pain I felt and became aware that I was not on the ground. I was being held upside down against the side of something. I could not escape from up there for I knew not how far off the ground I was or even where I was. All I know is that I felt a tighter clamp around my waist and a feeling of illness coming on to me. I began to wonder if I really would die there...it was not death I was afraid of however. It was the fear of dying in a place as hellish as the one I was in that I was most concerned about. My wounds, nor my situation mattered to me.


	8. Chapter 8

**A Lesson In Survival**

Suddenly I was engulfed in even more darkness. _What the hell is going on?_ Then a bright light pierced through my eyelids and woke me up to an even more horrendous scene. Blood was everywhere. On the rocks, on the mountain, and it appeared to be coming from me.

I looked up and saw a huge brown monster glaring down at me. I snarled back, but found myself unable to attack. I clawed at the beast and soon realized that the beast had his claws lodged in my throat. I snapped at him and as I did blood squirted out at him. He seemed to laugh at me and swung his other paw at my head. There was nothing I could do to avoid it. I was pinned against a mountain with a creature thrice as large as I was attacking me.

Suddenly the creature swirled away from me and his claws came loose from my throat. I fell to the ground and coughed up some blood. And as I looked up I saw Toboe making his way to the creatures head. And as he did, he dug his claws into the bear's back, ripping up bits of fur and flesh as he did. I smirked and laid my head down. Toboe was on his own for the time being, since I was in no shape to continue fighting. But to me, I just needed to regain my strength, no matter how much blood I seemed to be losing.

Toboe finally made it to the bear's head and chomped down on its ear. The bear spun and tried to claw Toboe, but every time Toboe managed to avoid the bear's massive paws. I stood up to try and help, but fell right back down. Toboe moved to the bears eyes and clawed at them. As he did, the bear moved his massive arms and hit Toboe right on the back. I stood up and saw something fast and gray whip right over me and hit the bear in the stomach, making him tumble over the cliff side. Toboe jumped off of the animal and whined as he collapsed on the ground.

"Toboe!" A familiar voice sounded.

"Tsume!" Toboe exclaimed as he looked up in pain.

"You stupid runt. You shouldn't have been fighting that monster!"

I limped over to the two of them and nuzzled Toboe. Toboe looked up and smiled. No matter what, that kid was always smiling. It kind of made me envious of him.

Tsume looked at me, full of rage. "How could you put him in a situation like this!"

I shook my head and Toboe explained, "Hey don't blame her. We didn't know that creature would be up here."

Tsume looked me over and saw that I was covered in wounds. "Tfft. At least it seems you put up a good fight. You're not dead or anything."

I tried to talk, but it hurt too much. Toboe noticed, "You can't talk!"

I shook my head and Tsume seemed displeased. "Oh great. I just rescued a half dead wolf and a runt who took on a giant bear. What will the others think of me?"

"Speaking of them…where are they?"

"They're up at a local town. Kiba said he smelled the scent of the lunar flower there."

"You mean Cheza might be there?"

"That's right…but this pain over here is gonna slow us down."

I growled at him, knowing he was talking about me. Toboe stood up and said, "Don't blame Kerii. We need to get her medical attention immediately."

I shook my head. Tsume explained for me, "No. She'll need the healing spring. It'll get us moving faster without drawing too much attention to ourselves. Besides the town ahead is full of nobles."

I looked down at my paws with anger. _Stupid nobles. _I thought to myself with frustration.

Toboe smiled, "Well that's fine. We'll go to the spring and then catch up with the others."

"Only one problem with that, kid…Kiba said he might go ahead on his own if we didn't hurry up. You know how much Cheza means to him."

Toboe nodded, "I know…but at least Hige will be there, right?"

Tsume shrugged, "Probably and so will that new girl, Ira."

"Who?"

"Kerii's friend…she kind of reminds me of you, runt."

Toboe didn't seem to happy to hear that, just as I wasn't too fond to hear that Kiba was planning to leave us if we didn't hurry up. I walked on, with some difficulty, but trying to get moving so I could catch up to Kiba. I had to see him…I wanted to.

"Kerii!" Toboe chased after me, seeming totally fine, even though he was whacked on the back.

Tsume turned into his human form and picked me up, slinging me over his shoulder. "Don't bleed on me too much, okay? I don't want to be blamed for your injuries."

Toboe giggled at that but trotted on ahead and down the opposite slope of the rugged cliff. We had another road ahead of us, not knowing what lie ahead, but knowing where we had to go and what we had to do to get there.


	9. Chapter 9

**Unexpected Road Block**

It took three days to make it to the spring. It was a ways from the town and in a cave no less. Good thing we were wolves, or we might've been creeped out. Tsume set me down and by then I could walk again, but I still couldn't talk and my wounds on my neck were still there. He turned back into a wolf and we all wandered inside. As we did darkness enveloped us, but we could still see. Tsume led Toboe and me into a section of the cave where the only light in the entire place were these crystals.

"Wow. It's so pretty." Toboe admired. I nodded at his comment and Tsume just shook his head. Toboe went on, "Are you sure you know where you're going?"

"Use your nose! You'll smell it too."

I sniffed the air as did Toboe. The smell of metal and flowers filled the air. We all followed our noses deeper into the cavern. Tsume stopped and we did the same.

"What is it, Tsume?"

He swished his tail and glanced around the area. "There's something ahead…"

"Like what?"

"I'm not sure…but with an injured wolf, we need to be careful."

"Shouldn't we be careful anyway?"

"I'll go on ahead to see if the coast is clear. Wait here!" He darted ahead and disappeared into the darkness. I sniffed the air and smelled sulfur and brimstone.

My ears perked forward and my tail stood on end. Whatever I smelled, it made my fur stand on end and I knew it couldn't be good. Toboe noticed the way I was acting and sniffed the air. He shrugged and nudged me to reassure me that everything was fine. But somehow I just couldn't believe that. Maybe it was because we had humans chasing us and had just fought a giant bear only days ago.

Tsume reemerged covered in a slimy substance. He shook it off, splattering the walls with the gunk. "The spring isn't ahead. We must've taken a wrong turn somewhere."

I looked at him questioningly. "What was up ahead?" Toboe queried.

Tsume shook his head, "I thought it was water, but when I put my paw in it, it stuck to me and soon I fell into the gooey mess."

"So nothing good then."

"No, but at least it was nothing bad either."

I shook my head and thought to myself _but I smelled sulfur and brimstone…those are elements to something hot…not something cold and slimy…maybe my nose is broken too._

Tsume led us back the way we came and turned to the left leading down into a cavern full of stalactites and stalagmites. I sniffed the air, but smelled nothing but sulfur this time.

Toboe asked, "Where did the smell of flowers go? Wouldn't that be where the hot spring is?"

"I think we just smelled the outside of the cave, because I haven't sniffed a trace of a flower at all since we've gotten this deep in here."

Toboe nodded, "Same here."

I nodded as well, wishing I could speak to make a note on the brimstone. But as we entered deeper into the cavern with a dripping ceiling, I found no need to. Water usually led to more water.

As we got closer to the end of the chamber, we saw a blue iridescent glow that seemed to entrance us all. We all moved towards it, seeming to forget where we were. That stopped as soon as it was blocked with a black shadow.

It leaped out in front of us and growled, revealing itself as none other than Areku. I was shocked, in fact a bit horrified. I thought she was going to force me to go back with her. That's when I noticed she had company with her.

Tsume growled, "Who are you!"

Areku grinned, "Who are you to ask me who I am?"

I felt a lump in my throat that forced its way out and surprised me and the others, "Areku!"

She seemed to be looking me over, as if she didn't recognize me. "Who…wait…"

I tried to speak again, but it hurt too much. Toboe looked at me worriedly and Tsume glared at Areku and then at me, "You know this wolf?"

I nodded and leered at my paws. Toboe stood next to Tsume, seeming to try and defend me from any attempt at an attack. "How do you know Kerii?"

Areku said sarcastically, "I see I'm spoken of often." Tsume growled and Areku went on, "She and I went to school together. You see, we all tried to fit in with the humans, but that one over there wanted to give up everything and go to Paradise…a place that may not even exist."

Toboe yelled, "It does exist!"

She scoffed, "Oh yeah? Where's your proof?" Toboe looked at that ground. "That's what I thought. So even though these guys don't have proof, you're following them around? Wow. What a tramp."

Tsume and Toboe both bared their fangs at her for that comment. She went on, "Hmm…I see why you stay with them now…you've tamed them as if they were your little puppy dogs."

I growled now and spoke as much as possible, even though it pained me to do so, "Areku! You don't understand. We're all just trying to get home."

"Home?" She laughed. "You've never had one, but I took you in. Along with that sister of yours. I gave you a pack and what did you do? You left me there, thinking I would let you go off without any consequences!"

The last words I managed to say were, "I'm…sorry."

She laughed and howled, which was a cue for all of the wolves behind her to attack us. "It's too late for apologies. But if you live through this I might forgive you."

The wolves charged at us, while Areku sat and watched from afar. Tsume and Toboe fought them off while I simply growled. There had to be at least twenty wolves there. Rage filled me and took control of me. I charged Areku, ignoring the nips and bites I got from her comrades on the way there. She avoided my attack and bit my tail. I howled in pain, but bit her leg in return. The other wolves stopped fighting and watched the two of us fight.

Toboe tried to come to my aid, but Tsume prevented him from doing so. Our fight raged on with more biting and clawing and soon we were both standing still, blood pouring from our wounds and our mouths. She spit at the ground. "Is that all you've got, Kerii? You're as weak as ever I see. This is why you'll never be alpha."

I charged her and she caught my front leg in her mouth and flipped me upside down. I growled at her, "No Areku…this is why you will never truly be a leader."

She pressed her paw on my throat which burned like crazy. "What do you mean? I'm clearly stronger than you."

"Yes…but right now…it's not a fair fight."

"What do you mean!"

"I'm…here…for the spring…I've been seriously injured…" As I blacked out, I heard lots of howling and the feeling of the earth shaking beneath me. I knew Areku would spare me, being the wolf and friend that she was, but I wasn't sure if the other wolves would. All I knew was, I was sick of blacking out.


End file.
